Just Another Delivery
by groaar
Summary: Cloud has been spending a lot of time thinking about old, unpleasant memories during his deliveries, will anyone be able to help Cloud to get rid of this habbit. VincentxCloud
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: First of all I must apologize for my poor English skills, it's not my mother tongue and therefore I think I'll have a lot of mistakes, especially with grammar, so I'm sorry for that... So I have been meaning to write this story forever, and now I have finally started! I must say I feel quite pleased with myself, and hope at least some of you will enjoy reading my story! ^^

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, they all belong to Square Enix...

* * *

Just Another Delivery

The sun warmed his skin and the wind tugged gently at his hair, his glasses protecting his eyes from the sand welling up as he stormed ahead along the road. Cloud sighed and shook his head slightly while hands covered by black gloves tightened the grip of the handlebars. Cloud couldn't help but feel bored. It wasn't as if he didn't like his work, but, some days it just seemed so futile. Cloud felt a distinct lack of action, action that he felt he badly needed.

Cloud could never have imagined himself missing the days when he and the others were saving the world, and he had given himself quite a shock upon realizing this. He had spent a lot of time thinking about it since and now he had come to some sort of an understanding concerning the matter, or so he thought. Back in those days, when his life was still filled with action he had been forced to concentrate on surviving, so he had had no time to think about troublesome things, no time to grief or feel guilt. But now, especially during long distance deliveries, he had all the time in the world to ponder upon such things, and more often than not he found his thoughts drifting of to explore unpleasant memories.

The road took a sharp turn and Cloud was momentarily blinded by the bright sun, however he paid this no mind, and trusting his driving skills he continued at the same speed. A breathtaking landscape took from in front of him, and it would have been truly stunning had Cloud only seen it, but he didn't. The green grassland with small groves every here and there, the water in the rivers glistening as the sun hit its surface, the beauty of nature. A beauty that was lost for Cloud because the only thing he could see was the same landscapes he always saw, and that had since long turned dull and gray in his eyes.

Soon Cloud was able to spot his destination, Rocket Town, but he figured it still was s quite some way to drive before he reached there. As he manoeuvred his bike on the curvy road the sky got darker, a lot of clouds were building up, and Cloud hoped the rain wouldn't break out before he was able to take shelter somewhere, preferably after his delivery. The weather however, suited his mood perfectly, since Cloud also felt gloomy. He hated it, hated it more than anything. Why did he have to be so damn weak, Cloud desperately thought, while ploughing through the landscape. He thought he had forgiven himself, but lately he just did not know what to think anymore. Was he truly forgiven? The question nearly drove him insane! And even worse, Cloud felt he didn't really have anyone to discuss the matter with, no one that'd want to listen to his brooding once again. Or rather, Cloud though, people would probably gladly listen, take Tifa for example, she'd be delighted he entrusted such a thing to her, but Cloud didn't want to bother anyone else with his problems. Problems that never seemed to leave him, infested too deep to ever be cleansed out. Besides, Cloud knew that even though Tifa would listen to his problems without even the smallest of complaints, it would bother her. It would bother her that Cloud still hadn't got over the same old matter, and this in turn would cause her to worry and Cloud didn't want that. He didn't want people to think of him as some despicable man, shoving all of his problems upon the backs of others. Anyway, Tifa had Denzel and Marlene to look after and worry for already, she didn't need one more person to baby. On top of this, even though Tifa would try, she'd never understand him, Cloud reasoned, because she simply didn't know the pain that tormented him. No one did.

The sun had now completely hidden itself behind the thick darkish clouds, and the closer Cloud got to Rocket Town the chillier grew the weather. The earlier pleasant wind now blew coldly upon his face. The blond shuddered and almost thought of stopping for a while, in order to be able to adjust his scarf, which Tifa had got him before this delivery, but he decided against it thinking it was too much trouble. Instead he sped up, and in a matter of minutes he had reached the destination for this delivery, Rocket Town.

Jumping of his bike he warily observed the sky, letting out a heavy sigh, since there were no signs of it clearing up. If possible the wind had only increased in power, and the darkness staring back at him from above seemed even gloomier than before. A mass of heavy clouds, impenetrable even for the strongest of sunbeams. Cloud quickly turned his gaze away, not wanting to see more of the miserable sky, as it only added to his current depressive state of mind, which he indeed wanted to get rid of, but felt incapable of doing so.

Cloud dealt with the delivery in no time, and as trustworthy as always Strife Delivery Service had completed yet another flawless job. Cloud silently wondered if he should go and look if Cid was at home, but as he didn't really feel like talking to anyone he swiftly made his way back to his motorbike. Another reason for not staying in Rocket Town any longer, argued Cloud to himself, was that the rain would start pouring down soon, and among many other things rain was something Cloud wasn't the least bit fond of. Thus, he figured, the only option left was outrace the storm, and even though he knew it was a stupid idea to begin with, he thought he at least could give it a shot. Then, in case he did get caught in the storm he reckoned that he could seek shelter somewhere along the road, and so, without even looking back at Rocket Town he left, speeding of into the distance.

Some time later, somewhere out on the road Cloud could feel the first few innocent raindrops hit his already cold skin, making him shuddered slightly. Cloud had no wish to get caught outside in the awaiting rainstorm and making a quick turn with his bike he headed for Nibelheim, which he supposed was the town closest to his present position, and however much he despised the fact that he would have to spend time in Nibelheim he felt even less tempted to continue driving into something that could turn out to be a huge downpour. Getting his clothes soaked was nothing Cloud appreciated, but then again, he wondered, who did? This thought in mind he steadily picked up more speed, hoping to reach the town somewhat faster in order to avoid the worst of the rain.

Seldom had Nimbelheim looked as abandoned as it did when Cloud reached the town, the streets were empty and all doors and windows were tightly shut, no lights to be seen anywhere. The storm had truly taken form faster than Cloud could have had imagined, and he wore no longer, despite his efforts, a single piece of dry clothing. He parked his bike close to the inn, which was a dull house with gray stone walls, nothing anyone would exactly enjoy resting their eyes upon. Just as Cloud was about to enter he caught a glimpse of Shinra Mansion as it stood there on its spot, alone in all its horrific glory. Cloud retreated his hand, that was already about to grab the doorhandle, and took a few steps backwards on the dirt road, muddy from all the raining and covered with a rich number of water puddles which were growing by the second. Because of a sudden notion Cloud started walking towards the mansion instead, leaving the inn behind, thinking, that Vincent would maybe be there, and even if he was not, Cloud was sure he could spend the night there, for free. And if Vincent, contrary to Cloud's believes, would be present, Cloud was sure of that he had no reason to fear not getting some peace and quiet, as Vincent wasn't exactly known to be the talkative kind of guy. Anyways, Tifa and Yuffie and possibly some others might cheer up some if they got to hear some news about their raven haired friend, as he very seldom took any contact with them. Then again, Cloud reasoned, Vincent probably never contacted anyone.

Making his way towards the house Cloud could feel a couple of icing raindrops streaming down along his neck, and further down his back, causing him some icy shivers. His soaked hair lay, as flattened as it could get, all over his face covering up good part of his field of vision, but Cloud had already since long given up any attempts to move the hair away as he had noticed that it always fell back again. Upon entering the yard through the big gate Cloud stopped abruptly, not sure if he actually wanted to spend the night in the big, abandoned house towering up in front of him. Realizing it was actually something resembling fear that held him away from the house Cloud had to let out a small laugh, he was no longer a child, a house shouldn't scare him. Even though many a terrible event had taken place there, the house in itself opposed no danger. Resuming his walking he removed his goggles and ran his hand through his hair in a last desperate attempt to squeeze out some water out of it, this however proved to be in vain. Cloud cursed the damned the weather, mumbling angrily under his breath hoping that someone above might hear him, and stop the godforsaken rain.

In no time Cloud stood face to face with the big wooden door, and after having pondered upon if he should knock or just enter Cloud settled for knocking, figuring that if Vincent was home it would be rather rude of him to enter without at least making his presence known in some way. But barely had Cloud knocked before he regretted this decision, thinking it would have been better to stay at the inn after all, as no one would be bothered by his presence there. Vincent was a loner, and such persons were never happy to be disturbed. But as any attempts to retreat now were out of the question the man steadily stood in the same spot strenuously staring at his feet.

The minutes passed, the door remained tightly shut and no sounds indicating that the raven haired man would be present could be heard, so Cloud drew a sigh of relief and slowly, but steadily, turned away from the house. But only had Cloud taken a few steps in the direction of the town as the door soundlessly slid open.

"Sorry I had you waiting, I was already asleep" said a deep voice apologetically from behind him, freezing Cloud the spot, making him realize it was not only the house itself he found intimidating, but also its inhabitant.

"Cloud" the crimson eyed man said with the smallest hint of surprise hidden in his voice. The fair haired man slowly turned to face Vincent, and replied in the same manner. At this Vincent turned to head back into the house, leaving the door open so that Cloud would be able to follow. For only the shortest moment Cloud hesitated, but as he already had awoken the older man he decided it'd be better if he entered than walked away. Stepping inside he was greeted by warmth that the house seemed to embrace him with, making his soaked clothes at least a bit more bearable, which in turn improved the blond's mood noticeably.

The interior of the house was possibly even darker and gloomier than the weather outside and it took Cloud's eyes quite a while to adjust to the lack of light. When they did he noticed that nothing much about the house had been changed. It was the same wallpapers, same dusty floor, the only new pieces of furniture Cloud could spot at the moment was an old table and a couple of chairs to go with it. The table would probably have looked brilliant and rich in colour if only it was viewed in daylight, but Cloud seriously doubted that the interior of this house had experienced the warming sunbeams often, if ever, lately. It was in one of these wooden chairs situated at the table that Vincent sat, face as unreadable as ever. Cloud made his way to the opposite side of the stoic man and calmly seated himself there. Nothing was said for the longest of time, and Cloud was surprised to hear that it was Vincent's voice that broke the suffocating silence. Vincent asked for the reasons for Cloud's visit, and the latter muttered something about deliveries and rainstorms. The words that left the lips of the blond were no explanation, but being the man he was Vincent wouldn't ask about the matter more than once, no matter the nature of the answer he had received. Thus the couple once more fell into silence.

Thunder roared outside and Vincent cast his eyes upon the window, wanting to behold the storm in all its terrifying beauty. Cloud watched as the lightning was reflected in the crimson orbs belonging to the man in front of him. While doing so he couldn't help but wonder how the older man always managed to remain so calm, no matter the situation he was always collected, even now, watching the storm, he didn't seem to change his expression even once. Cloud unsuccessfully tried to recall at least one time when the man had been thrown of his inner balance but Vincent never showed a sign of hesitation, not in his actions nor in his words. A flawless behaviour.

Tired of observing the growth of the water puddle beneath him, caused by his yet far from dry clothes, Cloud decided to put an end to the lengthy silence.

"Do you spend a lot of time here?" he asked, eyes directed at the charcoal haired man. As soon as uttered the question seemed to blend with the darkness, the words fading away at the instant they were uttered.

"Sometimes" Vincent replied in a deep voice, gaze still fixed upon the window, his expressionless face leaving Cloud no clue of how to decipher the cryptic answer. Cloud had to smile a little at Vincent's behaviour, to anyone on the outside he'd seem very cold and aloof, and his behaviour would even fool Cloud if he wouldn't know that Vincent always would help his friends out if they needed him. Vincent's temporary aloofness, however, opposed one problem, namely it made striking a conversation so much more complicated. Cloud figured his question concerning Vincent's whereabouts was better ignored, since the older one did not seem too keen to answer, and having nothing else to talk about silence settled in again.

The minutes ticked by and the storm roared as strong as ever outside, showing no sign of growing tired anytime soon. The air in the house was thick and humid and possessed a somewhat stale smell. The pattering of the rain on the roof drowned most other sounds, but if concentrating Cloud could here the soft, rhythmic breathing of the other man. He found the later sound oddly calming to his overstrung mind, and took time to enjoy a peace and quiet he seldom had chance to experience. The atmosphere which Cloud had thought to be tense turned into a quite pleasant silence, Cloud actually felt relaxed.

"Do you ever think of the past?" the words left Cloud's mouth before he even realized it himself, thus startling himself in the process. Crimson eyes were flicked towards Cloud, and Vincent even raised his eyebrows a tad, the latter action, however, was something the blue eyed man didn't notice. Cloud, still rather taken aback by his own actions, would have preferred to leave the question unvoiced and to his own mind alone, but as it now was out in the open he did see no reason to regret his moment of sloppiness.

"Why so suddenly do you ask me such a question?" asked Vincent huskily, skilfully directing the question back to its source. Cloud opened his mouth to answer, but was momentarily lost in the cardinal red orbs piercing his own bluish eyes. He had never really had had the chance to behold Vincent's eyes like this, as the latter seldom was interested enough to even turn his gaze towards whoever spoke to him. Vincent's eyes were special, they were animalistic and raw but yet very soft and kind, somehow they suited their owner, both ambiguous.

"I have been" sighed Cloud once back to his senses, seeing no point in hiding the truth from the ever calm man who was currently facing him. Furthermore he doubted that Vincent would pass this information any further.

"I have been thinking of it quite often lately, and I… I wouldn't mind doing it all over. Action keeps my mind of other things." Cloud looked warily around in the dark room but Vincent never let his gaze wander away from Cloud. The younger man was oblivious to this and only went on explaining his situation and how he had felt lately. He was scarce in his words, only mentioning the main things, but he had no doubt Vincent got his drift. Even though the black haired man was quiet he wasn't stupid.

The mood around the table was stifled once Cloud had finished his story and neither man said anything for quite a while. The only thing to be heard was the soft, muffled drumming of the raindrops hitting the roof of the immense building. The storm was at last abating.

"I know the pattern of thought your mind is currently following, I used to be the same." stated Vincent calmly, his eyes once more looking out the old, dirty window.

"Used to?" questioned Cloud, eager to know if any solution existed to his problems. The other man nodded absentmindedly but made no sign of giving Cloud the key to his problems. The younger man gestured at the empty room.

"How did you stop thinking of it? I mean, there isn't much to keep you entertained here…" remarked Cloud, still waving his arms at the dusty room. Vincent seemed to pay him no mind; the cloaked man simply rose from his chair in order to move closer to the window he had only moments ago been looking out of. Back turned towards Cloud and eyes steadily fixed at the greyish landscape outside the older mans lips curled up into a small smile, well hidden from Cloud who only could see the silhouette of the red caped man.

"I have found something else to think about" explained the older, red cape fluttering behind him as he soundlessly moved across the room towards the door.

"What?" asked Cloud, even though he knew it to be pointless, as he could see that Vincent clearly indicated it was time for Cloud to leave. As predicted the only answer the younger man got was a look he couldn't quite interpret. Cloud, who didn't want to offend the red eyed man by overstaying, was quick to get out of his seat and moved swiftly towards Vincent, towards the door. At least he felt a little lighter at heart having shared his problems with someone else, and his clothes were if not dry at least dryer than when he came.

Cloud took a deep breath of the fresh night air, he might not like rain but he did like the crispiness that lingered in the air after a storm. The blue eyed man had no doubt he'd enjoy his ride back home.

"It was nice seeing you again" said Cloud, his eyes fixed on the now rainless but still very dark and gloomy sky. Vincent nodded in response, the wind tugging at his long black hair, making him seem more alive than usual. Cloud said his goodbyes to Vincent, turned, and started stepping in the direction of the gate. He still shivered slightly, thanks to his damp clothes, but being used to such small imperfections he chose to ignore it and carry on walking.

"It's you" the dark voice made Cloud stop dead in his track only a few steps away from the gate and would he only have turned around he would have seen a momentary hesitation in Vincent's slightly downcast eyes.

"It's you I think about" the words were spoken softly, in a voice so unlike the one belonging to Vincent. True, the voice was as calm as always but it lacked the assurance with which Vincent usually spoke. It wasn't the usual matter-of-fact voice, but a voice laced with emotion. Cloud, surprised by the sudden confession, quickly spun around to look at Vincent, almost loosing his balance on the slippery grounds when doing so, but the crimson eyed man was nowhere to be seen. The blond shook his head slightly, making his hair dance all around his face, Vincent truly was a mystery. However this mystery had to be solved at some other time, as Cloud realized he was far too tired to think of it now. What had Vincent really meant? Why had Vincent said it? What should his own reaction to all this be? These were all questions to be answered later. So, as there was nothing more to be done, Cloud yawned and lazily pulled on his goggles, and after one last glance upon the seemingly deserted house Cloud took his leave.

The damp grass under the blond's feet soaked his shoes again and thanks to the clouded sky everything seemed as dark as it had before, even the town showed no sign of human activity and lay as deserted as Shinra Mansion. However, as Cloud made his way towards his bike he at least knew one thing for sure, he'd have something new to think about on his drive home, and he allowed a minute smile to pass over his lips.

* * *

Author's Note: Yey, the end of chapter 1, finally! It turned out a bit different than I had imagined, but I'm quite pleased anyway... Reviews are very welcome!


	2. Chapter 2

Author's note: I am very happy for all reviews I have gotten! So thanks to all who reviewed. I am sorry it took such a long time to get this uploaded though... First I had countless exams and other schoolwork, then I had to prepare for going on my exchange to Japan, then I had to get used to life in Japan, then I got so much homework... Now I finally managed to upload the next chapter... I am so glad! Once again, I am sorry for my English... Now as I have been in Japan for like 2 months I feel my English skills are disappearing faster than ever before... Anyways, I hope you'll be able to enjoy this story, at least somewhat!

* * *

Cloud was exhausted by the time he reached Edge and had no other wish than to close his sleep-ridden eyes and lay down in his own bed. The sun was getting ready to rise, and some early birds were already up making their way around town. As Tifa's bar came into sight Cloud started to slow down. The air in Edge was not at all as fresh and pleasant as in Nimbelheim, which had been one of the first things the blue eyed man had noticed when reaching the town, but at least the sky was free of clouds by now.

Upon reaching the bar Cloud tried to peek in through the windows, however he couldn't see any signs of movement, so he deemed it safe to enter. Cloud feared that Tifa might be worried for him, since the delivery had taken so much longer than it should have had. A worried Tifa often resulted in a slightly annoyed Tifa, and this was the reason to that the blond honestly did not want to deal with her right now. He still hadn't got a good chance to wrap his mind around what happened earlier, as he had struggled with keeping awake most of his ride home, and thus getting ranted at by Tifa didn't stand too high on the list of things he wanted to do. Cloud decided to sneak in as quietly as possible, and sure, he made it all way to his room, all the way past the creaking floor-boards and all other obstacles. The very moment he entered the room Cloud threw himself on the bed and let the cool bedding engulf him completely. For a moment the thought of a much needed shower passed through his head, but sleep came to the blond at such a speed that even such a simple thing as a shower was soon forgotten.

"Cloud? Cloud! Are you there?" Tifa's shrill voice introduced itself into Cloud's dream. The blond desperately tried to stay asleep, but as the voice behind the door did not show any signs of giving up, or leaving, he let out a grunt to let Tifa know he was fine. A decision the blond deeply came to regret.  
"Cloud!" said Tifa, when opening up the door "I waited up for you half night!" She walked boldly into his room and proceeded to open the curtains of his window. Cloud, who had only just creaked open his eyes quickly turned away from the gashing sunlight, which darted playfully around the room, and mumbled something about that she shouldn't have had to wait for him. With enormous efforts Cloud lifted his head, glancing at the red digits of the digital clock on the bedside table realizing it was no more than 9 a.m., which meant less than 3 hours of sleep.  
"Maybe so" Tifa continued, ignoring Cloud's discomfort "but you should have been back early, and I couldn't even reach you on the phone..." Cloud, who had been trying to escape the cruel truth of morning by creeping further down under the covers reluctantly crawled out again as he heard the worrying tone in Tifa's voice.  
He sat up, yawned and stretched, eyes steadily fixed on the chequered pattern of his cover, refusing to look up at Tifa, fearing he might succumb under her demands if he did and tell her all about last night, and anyway he found the cover a lot more interesting, at least that is what he told himself. Checks of blue, red and green blended with other checks of different sizes, colours and patterns. Together they made up an entirety. It somehow resembled the human mind, different colours stood for different feeling, patterns symbolized thoughts and so on. Cloud silently wondered if Vincent's mind somehow could bear similarity to his cover, then maybe, if he studied the cover carefully he'd realize something new... Cloud stopped his train of thought there, realizing how ridiculous it really had become.

"I thought you had stopped such behaviour" Tifa's voice cut through the silence like a knife, immediately bringing Cloud back to the real world. Cloud gazed at Tifa. She truly was a wonderful person, both on the inside as well as on the outside. Not many could compete with her beauty, Aeris had stood a good chance... but, alas, that was in the past... Tifa's dark hair gently caressed her slender, but yet muscular body, she was the kind woman who was up for a fight at any time. Cloud seldom saw Tifa with her hair let down, so he only sat there for a moment, observing the woman in front of him. Seeing the pain in her features, the worry in her eyes, Cloud sighed and shook his head.  
"I'm sorry" he mumbled after a while "Things happened, I'll explain later". Sighing once more he got up, yesterdays clothes reminding him of how bad in a need of a shower he really was.  
"No you won't!" Tifa's raised voice startled Cloud, who turned to face her, a puzzled look painted all over his face.  
"You never tell me anything" she mumbled, looking slightly ashamed over having gotten so upset over the matter, but her gaze didn't waver as she looked steadily into Clouds eyes. Cloud could do nothing but shake his head, those pleading brown eyes looking so intently at him. Indeed Tifa was right, he had silently hoped she would forget this conversation or that he otherwise just could escape explaining the situation, but it seemed as if she knew him too well.  
"I was caught in the storm and took the opportunity to pay Vincent a visit" Cloud said gruffly, slightly displeased with himself for not being able to come up with any excuses or a simple white lie. However, when realizing why he was so displeased he only took a turn to the worse. He didn't understand himself anymore, because why would he even need an excuse to cover up for such a normal thing? Annoyed as he was he walked out of the room with firm steps, pushing himself gently past Tifa in the process. She stood a while in the doorway, observing as the man walked quickly towards the shower, trying to figure him out. It annoyed Tifa tremendously that however much she tried she could never seem to understand Cloud, every time she thought she got closes to understanding him it only seemed like she had taken two steps backwards. So dwelling on yet another disappointment she walked towards the kitchen, to get ready to open the bar.

Cloud feeing slightly refreshed after the shower decided it was time to get something to eat, because, as he had not thought of it before, he was actually starving. Thus Cloud walked towards the kitchen, pulling a hand through his semi-wet hair trying to make it seem more controlled, preparing himself to face yet another day. However, little did he know what fate had in store for him.

"Cloud!" a shrill voice greeted him as he stepped into the bar. Yuffie! This day was not heading in the right direction at all. The young ninja seemed full of life, then again when didn't she, and could hardly sit still as the blonde proceeded towards the table she was located at, shared by Marlene and Denzel.  
"I heard from Tifa that you saw Vincent! How was he? Was he doing well?" the ninja's vivid blue eyes bore themselves into Cloud's blue ones. She was way too eager, and impatient, she couldn't even keep quiet long enough for Cloud to answer the first question.  
"You see" she began "most times when I try to call Vinnie he simply ignores my calls" she whined. "And even if he actually answers he just doesn't say anything much" she blabbered on, the list getting longer for every second. Cloud carefully studied the pouting ninja, eyeing her from top till toe. She hadn't changed much, not even after everything that she'd gone through. Cloud couldn't help but wonder if a more serious side to this woman even existed, because if it did, he surely hadn't seen it yet. Frankly, Cloud couldn't even imagine such a side.  
"We didn't talk much either" he said at last, cursing Tifa for letting Yuffie know about his whereabouts. The ninja uttered a sound of disappointment, rising hastily up from her chair and leaning over the table to get closer to Cloud. "Then what did you do? You must have done something, right?" she inquired, fire burning in her ever eager eyes.  
"I waited for the rain to stop" drawled Cloud. "Nothing more, nothing less". Once again the ninjas face changed its expression into a pout, exaggeratedly whining about how they could have done nothing else, boring old men.  
"Did he mention me then?" said the ninja suddenly after a while, new hope shining in her eyes. However, Cloud didn't have to answer that question because at that moment Tifa came into the room carrying a tray of food. Finally Cloud could take a breath of relief.

After a tiring breakfast of cross-examination conducted by Tifa and Yuffie, Cloud headed with heavy steps towards the church, towards Aeris's church. He needed to think. Alone! He did enjoy the company of the girls, sometimes and to some extent, but they were so noisy... He slumped down in one of the front benches of the church, groaning he buried his head in his hands. Why was he so easily annoyed today? Especially when a special person was brought up as the subject... Why? Only yesterday morning he wouldn't have reacted like this, or would he? Everything was just spinning around in his head, he didn't feel like anything was clear anymore. He was confused to the point where he even wished he'd never visited Vincent at all, at least then he'd be at peace now. Now all his free time was spent with thinking of what Vincent had meant by those words, and what the proper reaction should be. Urgh, his head hurt! Not only from thinking but also from the lack of sleep, he felt terrible. He drew a long breath and rubbed his eyes, trying to empty his mind from all of the thoughts that wanted to make themselves heard. He stretched, letting his arms reach high above his head, and then finally stood up. He walked over to the flowers, to the flowers Aeris always so tenderly had seen to. Aeris, the blonde thought, was one person he truly had felt for, deeply. Compared to her this musing over Vincent was something he found almost ridiculous, almost. He lay down among the colourful flowers, here he felt at peace. Closing his eyes he willed sleep to come, knowing nothing would disturb him here.

Gentle and soft hands caressed his cheeks, gentle words were murmured into his ears, someone's hair brushed against his skin. The blond wanted to reach out for that person, the person treating him so nicely. Too tired to open his eyes, he tried to lift his hands in order to touch that nice person, but the lack of sight caused him to fail miserably, in response the other person only laughed. It was a heart-warming laugh and it was a voice Cloud knew, he just couldn't place it. Not at all. His curiosity drove him to open his eyes, but what Cloud saw was only the dark ceiling of the church. Gray, empty and uninviting. Cloud lay still for a moment, letting the scent of the flower mix with the nice evening air, blinking a couple of times, trying to recall whatever dream he had had. It was a nice dream, that he remembered, but that was about all he could recall... He shook his head, making the flowers around him bend, tuning to lie in a different position.

However pleasant his sleep had been he didn't get those nagging thoughts ridden from his head… What bothered him the most was that these thoughts normally wouldn't bother him, and it was driving him insane. Furthermore he wished the other man could have been more precise with his statement, not leave it hanging like that, how was he supposed to understand the meaning of it? What did people try to imply when they told someone they had been on their mind…Maybe he should just pay the man another visit…. Cloud sat up with a start, having surprised himself with his previous thought, why even come up with such an idea? Cloud pulled his hand through his hair, blushing, momentarily despising himself. How could such an idea even make its way into his head, it was not normal, just not normal. Anyway, hadn't visiting Vincent once already caused enough of troubles? Still… His cheeks burned red as he silently wondered to himself what the hell had gone wrong with this day, because… because he didn't see Vincent like that. He respected Vincent, that he did, the stoic man always seemed to be able to keep his calm, no matter the situation. The raven haired man was great company because he spoke so little and respected silence, but Cloud didn't hold any deeper feelings for the older man. The blonde wouldn't even dare to call Vincent his friend, they respected each other, but their feelings never went beyond that. They could enjoy each other's company because they were somewhat alike, and as cruel as it sounds the lack of friendship made standing each other easier. It wasn't as if Cloud did not considered Vincent a friend, just not a very close friend, they did not talk or share stuff with each other, indeed Cloud rarely did this with anyone, but Vincent was still different. When being around him Cloud didn't feel the pressure and the demand he felt when being around others, he wouldn't have to explain himself if he didn't want to, he could just sit quiet, doing nothing, and the other wouldn't mind. That was what Cloud enjoyed about Vincent. Unconditional acceptance.

Cloud rested his head back on the heard ground, closing his eyes, taking a couple of deep breaths, collecting his thoughts. Who was he trying to fool, himself? He knew very well what the origin of all this confusion was, he just felt a need to deny it, it was so, unbelievable. Cloud rolled onto his side, letting the blond hair fall down over his face. Cloud reached out his hand, the pale fingers lightly touching the flower petals of a nearby flower. A red flower. Cloud sighed, feeling the discomfort within him grow. What bothered Cloud was indeed partly the fact that he did not know exactly what Vincent had meant with the thing he had said, was it just a statement, or did it run deeper than so. No matter how Cloud tried to twist and turn the matter, the latter meaning was the one he ended up believing. He plucked the red little flower, gently twisting it between his fingers, observing its deep red colour. He just couldn't believe it, that Vincent actually said something like that, especially if it bore such a meaning as he suspected. Cloud groaned, he didn't know what to make of this, he didn't know how he should react, and this was the thing that bothered him the most. His immediate reaction when Vincent had said that was probably something akin to happiness, but now, he just didn't know. Of course he felt… appreciated but did he feel something more? Would it be normal to ponder upon this matter this long if there were no underlying feelings? They hadn't even been that close before, so why would Vincent saying something like this affect him this much? What would the proper response be? How did he want to respond? A million questions and zero answers, Cloud swore that had there been a button he could have pushed to turn off his mind, he would have done so now.

A cold breeze made its way into the church, reaching Cloud, pulling him out of his thoughts. The wind made the flowers sway lightly, as if they would be bowing to an unseen mightier power. Also the flower in Cloud's hand made feeble attempts to escape his grip but the breeze was no match for the blond, who held the flower in a firm, yet tender grip. He sat up, letting the wind tug lightly at his hair, his eyes intently fixed on the flower, absorbing the colour. There were a lot of other red flowers on the ground, but the one in the blonds hand seemed to have a deeper red colour than the rest. Or was he just thinking too much again, even associating flowers to a certain dark haired man. Pushing himself of the ground Cloud looked round around the church for the first time this day, and noticed that the daylight had already almost fled and the darkness had crept out from the nooks and corners. Cloud dusted of his clothes, careful not to harm the little flower, getting ready to go back. He hadn't meant to be gone for this long, but the time had just passed before he noticed it. So Cloud slowly, shuffling along, left the church.

"Cloud!" Marlene exclaimed when he re-entered Tifa's bar. She ran up to him all excited, eager to show him a picture she had drawn. Only moments later Denzel joined her, trying to discuss with the other two about an extremely interesting book he had finished reading earlier that day. However, whatever they were saying just passed right in through one of Cloud's ears and out of the other. Because the only thing Cloud's mind could focus on was the dark haired figure he saw standing in the hallway, seemingly listening absentmindedly to the young ninja, who in turn seemed overjoyed at having his attention.  
"Cloud?" whined a very worried looking Marlene, and the blonde immediately snapped out of his thoughts, turning to her, smiling. Although he wanted nothing more but to leave the room before the red caped man spotted him, even though he knew that said man probably had noticed his presence the second he stepped in here.  
"Yeah?" he kneeled down so that he would be in about the same height as the little girl. She looked at him with her big, sincere, brown eyes, wondering if he was OK. Cloud smiled, trying to show the young girl that he was fine, no wanting her to get upset. He was talking to her quietly, however he paid no mind to the words he used, all his attention centred on the red clad person standing not far away. But no matter how closely Cloud watched the dark haired man the other didn't seem to turn his gaze away from Yuffie. Not for one second. Cloud couldn't determine whether Vincent was truly engaged in Yuffie's story, or if he only pretended. Cloud was so engulfed in his observations that he didn't even notice Tifa enter the room before she asked them all if they wanted a drink, startling Cloud in the process. Cloud quickly declined though, not wanting to face the other man, who had spun around in his head all day, in person. Tifa started to protest, complaining about how Cloud had been gone all day, but Cloud paid this no mind, marching with determination straight out of the room.  
"I'm sorry about Cloud's behaviour, he's been a bit off today..." Tifa tried to desperately cover up for Cloud, Yuffie however complained loudly over this, mostly to annoy Tifa though. Vincent, being his usual self, didn't say anything, but his eyes were fixed at the spot where Cloud had disappeared.

That night had been extremely boring. First Cloud had placed the flower in a slightly dirty glass filled with water, putting it on the table in his room. Then he had spent a great deal of time staring out his window, watching the stars in the distance, wondering what he could find out there, would he ever get an opportunity to venture there... He simply sat there for hours, looking outside. His mind sunken in deep thought, his brow puckered, his head, leaning against the palm of his hand, was throbbing from excessive thinking. Closing his eyes the blond allowed himself to get lost in thought once more, since there simply seemed to be no way of stopping it. He had closed his eyes for only what seemed like mere seconds, but he must have drifted off for a bit because when he looked outside the next time the first tentative rays of sun already tried to spread their yet feeble light over the still dark sky...

Cloud's whole body was stiff from sleeping while sitting in an upright position, his hair was messed up and his mind was sill heavy with sleep. Slowly he got up and stretched thoroughly, trying to ease the pain roaming through his body. Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes he quietly pattered down to the kitchen, making himself a cup of coffee, where upon he proceeded outdoors to watch the sunrise, without having the dirty window glass blocking his view. He sipped carefully at the scolding hot coffee, letting the crispy scent of newly roasted coffee fill his being. The hot air made its way upwards, sub transparent wisps of steam mixing with the air, disappearing soon after they left the immediate surroundings of the cup. The blonde let his eyes leave the greenish cup and let them wander away to enjoy the brilliant sunrise. Cloud's blonde hair glistened as gold when the sunshine tenderly caressed it.

"It is very beautiful sight indeed" a deep voice murmured behind Cloud, who in his surprise was close upon spilling his cup of scolding hot coffee. However he didn't turn around. "Vincent!" Cloud exclaimed, sounding more surprised than he had intended to let on. Vincent walked up to Clouds side, silently standing beside him, red eyes lost in the distance. Cloud searched for something to say, usually he would feel more at ease with silence but now it only felt stifling and uncomfortable.  
"Would you like some coffee?" the younger man croaked, struggled with the words, but glad he managed to say something. Vincent quickly turned his head towards Cloud, slightly surprised by the spontaneous question, his black hair, beautifully catching the sunlight, shimmered as it flowed behind him.  
"No" he answered quietly but resolutely "I am going to leave soon so..." he let his voice drop of, and as if by itself Vincent's head turned back towards the horizon.  
"I see" Cloud mumbled, when a sudden thought hit him, he had no idea why the man next to him had come here in the first place, and curiosity taking the better of him he voiced his question.  
"Yuffie!" the answer was short and rough, Vincent almost sounded snappy, but only almost. Cloud couldn't help but smile a little at that, who else could have lured out this man from his dark homely coffin if not Yuffie? He didn't know if he should feel relieved or disappointed though. Cloud glanced tentatively at Vincent, trying to read the others face, but as always it was blank.

The two simply stood there side by side, Cloud didn't know for how long, watching the sun, the crimson red sun, which by now had risen almost completely.  
"Cloud I..." Vincent's voice broke off and whatever words were meant to have continued this sentence were lost... Cloud looked inquiringly at the older man, bu when he didn't receive an answer he didn't know if he should push the matter or not. Cloud had to admit that he didn't exactly know how to best act around the other. Luckily, Vincent, sensing Clouds discomfort, took matters into his own hands.  
"About the other day, you can just ignore it" he uttered in a voice which was topped with a slight feeling of discomfort, or so Cloud thought. The blue eyed man was at los of words, he didn't know how to reply not even how he should react…  
"I see" was the only thing he managed to choke out, in a very stifled and uptight manner, wringing his hands together, almost crushing the coffee cup in the process. How Vincent reacted to his response was however something he had no chance of finding out, as he didn't have the guts to look at the red eyed man.

They spent yet a few silent minutes side by side in silence before Vincent announced he'd take his leave, and started walking back towards the bar. Cloud's mind worked frantically, was this the way he wanted to leave matters, hanging in the air like this? This could be the chance to clear up his thoughts, to get his questions answered.  
"But, I can't just ignore it..." he finally muttered, relived he had said something but unsure of if Vincent actually perceived what he had said. Though, he thought he noticed a slight pause in the other mans steps, very slight, but a pause nonetheless. And Cloud was not wrong, as Vincent had as a matter of fact stopped, and turned his head towards the blond who still stared straight ahead in the direction of the sun. However, there was no response.

With heavy steps Vincent left the place, wishing he would have a better way with words. If that had been the case he might have commented on the younger mans statement, or continued whatever he had planned on saying earlier. But he didn't know what to say. He didn't know what Cloud thought so he couldn't figure out what the proper response should be, and Vincent's motto was, that it was better to stay quiet rather than say something out of place. So following this he turned his back to Edge in order to undertake the long, tiring way back home.

* * *

Author's note: OK, so I do have every intention to complete this story, no matter how long it will take, and even if no one wants to read it... I feel a need to finish it! I will try to do so as fast as possible, but from previous experience it might take a while before that happens. Comments and reviews are very welcomed, as always!


	3. Chapter 3

I am so sorry for the terribly loooooooong wait! I could never have imagined how busy my exchange year was going to be. And now I am writing my B.A. Thesis and that doesn't make me any less busy. But at least I finally updated!  
I am sorry for any mistakes in the text, there is something wrong with my keyboard and at times it refuses to write the letters I type in. I have tried to proof-read the text a million times but feel like I have become blind to my own mistakes. And, it feels like my English skills kind of disappear during my exchange year :P  
This chapter I tried to write from Vincent's point of view, just to see how it would turn out if I did so.  
Well, I hope you enjoy!

* * *

Blood red eyes shot open only to be met by pitch black darkness. The sound of something still rang through the house and the dark haired man could vaguely hear voices coming from somewhere up above. This slightly alarmed Vincent because per usual people tended to avoid Shinra Mansion and thus voices often meant there were unwelcome intruders in his residence. As quietly as he could, which was virtually soundlessly, he slid the lid to his homely coffin open and moved into a sitting position. Almost immediately he relaxed, the voices were not unfamiliar, he couldn't quite make out what was being said, but the voices definitely belonged to Yuffie and Tifa.  
Now, slightly intrigued by the unexpected surprise visit, the raven haired man made his way out of the coffin and towards the spiral staircase leading up from the basement. Here he stopped again, carefully listening to the conversation held somewhere above him. As soon as he figured out what this tumult was all about, he regretted his decision to ever have gotten up from his coffin. Apparently the two were planning a party, a surprise birthday party, for him. Now, he was not a fan of parties, nor surprises, and birthdays was something he hadn't bothered with in years. He was seriously pondering upon going back to sleep, having no desire to participate in any festivity, when suddenly a thought hit him. This might be one of the few opportunities he had to meet Cloud, months already having past since they last saw each another.

Indeed Vincent had already decided not to think about Cloud anymore, having realized how hopeless the situation really was, but no matter how he tried the blond always managed to make his way back into his head, be it so through dreams or just innocent daydreaming. This frustrated the raven haired man utterly, because he would rather forget the younger man and get on with his simple, one paced life. That would be better than clinging to a thread of hope bound to break at any given moment. And yet, just as now, he couldn't stop his heart from beating just a bit faster from the excitement provided by the blond's possible closeness. Slowly Vincent brought his left hand up to his face and tiredly rubbed his temples. In exhaustion he lent his back towards the cold basement wall, shaking his head, he could not help but think he was too old for this kind of thing. To think like that pained Vincent somewhat, the thought of giving up wasn't tempting, but he had loved and lost before, and it was not an experience he wanted to relive if he could avoid it, even though he thought it to be not just a bit cowardly. Vincent sighed and closed his eyes, almost immediately his mind was invaded by images of the blond. Clouds blue eyes, pale skin and soft hair. Not that Vincent ever touched Cloud's hair, but he had always imagined it to be very soft. Cloud seemed so close that the older man would have had to do no more than extend his hand to be able to stroke the others cheek, but even in his imagination he restrained himself, there was no point in tasting something you could never have anyway, this was why all fantasies Vincent had about Cloud only consisted of them two facing each other, watching. No more, no less, always the same and this was enough. Reluctantly he allowed his eyelids to slid back up, and although he was not surprised to see that the blond wasn't standing in front of him, just as he had only seconds ago, he was somewhat disappointed by the fact. Sighing once more Vincent pushed himself away from the wall. He would want to see the fair haired man once more before completely giving him up, but because he knew that if he saw him again he might never be able to forget him he decided to go back to sleep.

Vincent slowly started walking back towards his coffin, the only place seemingly offering him any comfort these days, but not even halfway there he could hear someone coming down the stairs. Part of him wanted to run and hide in his safe haven, but of course this is not what he did. He made a great effort to get himself together and turned to face the stairs. Before long he could see Tifa who quietly made her way down the stairs, Vincent didn't move, he simply stood in the same spot waiting to be discovered and didn't quite know whether to feel despaired or to be excited. It took some time for Tifa to notice Vincent, due to the dim lighting in the tunnels, but when she did she called out to him in a friendly manner. He answered her just as politely, the raven haired man did not think badly of Tifa, she was a nice and smart woman and a lot more quiet and respectful than Yuffie. Because of this he had always treated her with the respect he though she deserved, only today he found himself actually having to put on an actual effort not to act inappropriately. He blamed it on the anxiousness he felt for the inevitable meeting with Cloud that awaited him upstairs.  
"They are all waiting for you" the brunette whispered in her clear and soft voice. The warmth of her breath made its way to Vincent, and then rapidly disappeared. He was seemingly contemplating whatever would be best to do, but it soon became clear that Tifa wouldn't take no for an answer. He knew this because when he had looked back over his shoulder at his sleeping chambers she had shook her head and smiled, telling him Yuffie would never leave his house before he came up from this hell hole. The thought was most terrifying, almost worse than having to face Cloud. Tifa smiled apologetically and he could see the pleading look she gave him.  
"Fine" was all the black haired man said but this was enough to make a wave of relief wash over Tifas face and she now took the lead going up the stairs before him.

Only meters from the basement door Tifa stopped and once more turned around to face the slightly intimidating man. With a warm smile she asked him to please pretend to be at least a bit surprised, the kids (with which she meant Marlene, Denzel and Yuffie, although the latter one was no longer a kid) had works so hard to arrange a good surprise party. This however, he told Tifa, was one thing he couldn't promise. She looked at him with her big brown eyes for a couple of more seconds but when receiving no other reaction she simply shrugged and turned away from him again. The kids would have to deal with it, at least she had gotten the man to attend. Vincent could not help but feel just a wee bit exited as Tifa turned the door handle.

Stepping out of the door, leading to what was supposed to be the party room, he could hear the kids frantically chanting 'surprise' or 'happy birthday' or something along the lines of that, the birthday boy however was not paying too much attention to them, as he was more busy looking around the room searching for that one special face, but could not find it. Against his will he could feel disappointment tugging at his heart. He knew he should be grateful, because this way he would be able to avoid any embarrassing silences or otherwise awkward moments, but still… Everyone from their former team was here, except for him, he refused to admit it even to himself, but he felt just a little bit hurt.  
They were currently in the upper left wing of the house, the one with the broken piano in it. Vincent rested his eyes upon it for a moment, he needed to think about something else for a moment, and a piano, even a broken one, was sufficient. It was an elegant piano indeed, even though old the black colour had never lost its lustre, however it was probably still broken he mused; at least he had never attempted to fix it. Today someone had at least bothered to decorate it by placing a vase filled with elegant white flowers of some sort on top of it. As a matter of fact, as he moved his gaze around the room, he noticed that previously dull, greyish and, if Vincent might say so himself, poorly conditioned room had came alive with decorations and colours. The raven haired man slowly took in the scenery; the room looked… new and as if it was actually in use. Someone had changed, or at least washed, the curtains, because the formerly brownish and tattered curtains were now an inviting creamy white colour, they alone made the room look lighter and more liveable. There were no traces of dust and no matter how hard he tried Vincent was unable to find even the smallest of cobwebs. Someone had put down a lot of work, and he did feel quite grateful, even though he did not really want to be here.

He walked around the room, thanking people for coming, listening to their small talk, watching them communicate with one another, but his mind was really elsewhere.  
Having never been one to spend time in large groups he soon found a relatively quiet corner which he picked to be his. It wasn't that the man draped in red didn't know this wasn't all too appropriate, considering it was his party, but he couldn't bring himself to pretended. Anyway, these people knew him, and they could not have expected much more than this from him, they would come to talk to him if they had something to say, they always did. However, they seemed perfectly happy without him at the moment, apart from Yuffie who came running to him every fifteen minutes, but that was really no big surprise as Vincent figured the whole party had probably been her idea.

As Yuffie had ran off for the umpteenth time the black haired stretched out his right hand in order to move the creamy drapes a bit, so to allow him access to the view outside. It was already dark and by the looks of it quite chilly, a few drops of water on the windowpane glistered as jewels when the moonlight made its way through the thick layer of gray clouds and hit them. The raven haired man was slightly surprised it was already this late, his eyes gazing over the dark sky, as his mind again wandered away to the younger blond man.  
Vincent did not normally allow himself to brood upon things, especially not the blond, but he thought that today he would grant himself that pleasure; it seemed to be his birthday after all. The man thought of where the blond was now, and why he wasn't here, that question refusing to leave his mind, no matter how many times he told himself it was better this way. This however, not being a very pleasant thought, he moved on to think about what could have evolved between the younger man and himself, would he have told the other one about his feelings. A slightly warm feeling spread through his body as he thought of the possibilities. It was not as if Vincent was lonely, he rather liked being by himself, but imagining having the blond man next to him still felt very comforting in some sense. Vincent himself could not entirely explain why though. He suddenly felt a strong urge to close his eyes but he knew that if he would follow this urge it would only lead to more fantasies. Most likely all too realistic fantasies where Cloud stood so close to him he could taste him in the air and feel the warmth radiate from his skin. Vincent let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding in and turned to face the now very clean wooden floor, he could feel a throbbing sensation in his heart, because he knew that no matter how real his fantasy seemed the real world was vastly different. For the second time during one evening Vincent had to remind himself that he would have to deny himself any such pleasures as love, even if the chance would arise, because he knew that even the sweet beverage of love had a bitter aftertaste.

The black haired man felt as if he had stood there contemplating for quite a while, and was more than slightly surprised Yuffie had not disturbed him once since he had let his mind float away. He slowly turned his head in order to look at all the guests again, sweeping a couple of his black hairs behind his ear in the process. What he saw when he looked up he could never have imagined, it did surprise him awfully much more than the absence of Yuffie during the last few moments. Standing there among all the other persons stood Cloud, smiling and looking a bit weather-beaten. The red clad man had to blink a couple of times to ensure himself he still wasn't lost in his own world, but as the blond man stubbornly refused to disappear he had to be true, everyone else seemed t be able to see him as well. Vincent could almost not believe he had been so lost in thought he had not even heard the blond enter, and he hoped he had been good enough at concealing his feelings of surprise. The raven haired man's eyes sought out the blue eyes of the younger one; they were as beautiful as he had remembered, the blue colour of them clear and non-turbid. As he knew he could not stare at the blond for too long without arousing the others suspicion he soon shifted his gaze to the rest of the crowd, they all looked so expectant, but what for? The blond man slowly started to move towards the older man, who had no clue to how he should interpret this action. The room had sunk into a very smothering sort of silence and this was not a pleasant one. Soon Cloud reached the corner where Vincent was standing, the room wasn't that big after all, and handed over a medium sized package to the other man.  
"I'm sorry I'm late, I just had to go get this, Happy Birthday" he said as Vincent accepted the gift.  
"Thank you" was the only answer Vincent managed, and then he quietly turned his head down in order to observe the package in his hands. The wrapping paper was a light brown colour and he box wasn't wrapped with any strings, all in all it looked more like an actual package than a gift, but Vincent didn't mind, he was a man that appreciated simplicity; he really didn't need a gift at all.  
"Open it, open it" Marlene cried running up to him, thus breaking the semi-silence in the room.  
Vincent slowly and carefully opened the wrapping paper, because no matter how much of an eyesore it really was, he was not the kind of man who would just rip the paper of, to Marlene's disappointment, so she decided to take matter in her own hands and help him. The raven haired man saw that Tifa was about to stop her, and signalled it was OK, he did not really mind. He handed over the package to Marlene, she would probably enjoy it more than he ever could. And sure, in a split second all the paper was lying on the floor and the box that had been wrapped up was also torn open, having accomplished this Marlene held up the box towards Vincent, enabling him to take a look inside it.

A new shiny gun. The raven haired man's eyes widened slightly, but in spite of this he calmly and discretely took the box from Marlene. It was a revolver of an older model, a beauty. Once having admired his gift for a while he lifted his head looking around at all the people in the room, now he felt more than and a bit uncomfortable. He felt it was an extremely awkward position to be in, having to thank everybody, however, after a minute or so of hesitating he let out a breath, and said the two words needed. Having done this the party seemed to continue, as if nothing ever had happened, but it had, because now Cloud was here and that completely change the atmosphere, at least for Vincent.

The evening rolled on and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, people even made efforts to get Vincent to socialise, and he had actually managed to do some sort of small talk, even though not much. Vincent really wished to talk to Cloud but there were so much people, and talking to Cloud was hard enough when they were alone, the blond didn't seem to take any initiatives either. As a matter of fact Cloud rather seemed to steer clear of any confrontations with Vincent.  
Vincent had again retreated back to a corner of the room, and thus he once more adopted the position of an observer. What he could spot at once was that Yuffie had had more to drink than she was able to handle, as she normally wouldn't lay sprawled over the piano in the manner she now did, at least the raven haired hope this was not one of her habits. Another very conspicuous thing he noticed was, that the two youngest guests seemed to be on the brink of falling asleep. Luckily Tifa was still sober enough to notice this as well, which could not be said about many of the other guests though, and after not too long a while she started to make her way towards Vincent.  
"Do you think it possible for the children to sleep here, only for tonight" she said warily as she had reached his side. Vincent looked at her, she looked a bit embarrassed, maybe she didn't want to trouble him. The raven haired man almost got so caught up in his thoughts that he forgot to answer. Finally he nodded though, and even managed to tell her it was no trouble at all, which it really wasn't. He hadn't really expected anyone to lave anytime soon anyway, considering the state they were in. He figured a birthday party was generally considered a good reason to drink.

As the minutes ticked by and turned into hours the raven haired man, still situated in the corner, started contemplating over whether it would be rude to leave his own party or not. Not that he thought anyone would notice even if he left, they were too caught up in the moment, too intoxicated. The black haired man himself was not really one for alcohol, not that he would ever admit it since that might work against the image he projected upon others, but he did not need to drink much to become drunk. While Vincent admitted it was quite fun to watch his friends drunk behaviour, it was not something he wanted to do for all too long, and after another 20 minutes or so he slowly slipped out of the room.  
As the rain had stopped pouring down the man decided to venture outside. As he stepped outside he was met by a cool, humid, night air, with the scent of rain still lingering in it. He tried to determine what time it was, but as he could see neither moon nor stars because of the thick layer of dark clouds he soon gave up. The raven haired man silently wondered how long the others would be able to go on partying before they quieted down, because he sure could do with some sleep. He leaned his back towards the cold, rough and slightly damp grey wall. Looking up towards the gloomy sky, he took a moment to ponder upon how large the universe was, and how small a person he was compared to all that, how insignificant. He enjoyed thinking about such things, and it was a great way to pass some time, and cool down.  
When he came back to his senses everything seemed very still and quiet. He supposed the party was finally over. Vincent quietly and a bit hesitantly walked back into the mansion, it was close to pitch dark and the silence that surrounded the house was total. He headed towards his basement and his welcoming coffin. On the way he passed the room where Tifa had put the children, and apparently herself as well, to sleep.

Just as Vincent was about to enter his dear coffin he heard a sound from a room close by to the room he usually slept in. The raven haired man decided to go inspect what the source of the sound was, not that he thought it was an intruder, but it was always better to be on the safe side. Slowly he opened the door to the study room in the cellar, but as he could not get a good view he decided to enter further. In the far end of the room he could see a candle of some sort burning, and he was positive of that there was a person sitting behind the desk there. Vincent observed the person for some time, he, Vincent was relatively sure the person was male, seemed completely absorbed in whatever he was reading and didn't seem to pay any attention to Vincent. The black haired one stood unmoved, letting his eyes adjust to the light in the room, and as they did he was able to confirm what he had suspected all along. That person was Cloud, it could be no one else, but why was he down here?

Now Vincent had two options, he could either sneak out of the room again and pretend as if he never had walked in there in the first place, or then he could walk up to Cloud and talk to him. However, neither option really tempted him. He wanted to talk to Cloud, which was not so surprising taking into consideration all the time he had spent thinking of the blond, but… another part of Vincent was not so sure of whether it was a good idea or not, and that part of him would rather flee and avoid a conversation altogether. The flight option was ruled out faster than Vincent had expected though, as a voice called out to him. During the time the older man had spent pondering upon what he should do the blond must have looked up from whatever he had been focusing on before and now he was asking Vincent what he was doing down here. Unsure of how to answer the question Vincent slowly walked up to Cloud in order to get more time to think, this did only earn him an inquiring look though.  
"I just…heard some noises and decided to check up on what it was" mumbled Vincent, casting down his red eyes towards the floor.  
"Oh, I didn't hear you enter" Cloud stated quietly.  
Vincent spent quite a long time contemplating on how to answer, or if he should say anything at all. While silently damning his own conversation skills he decided upon being quiet. He didn't leave though, as he was afraid that might give the impression of that he wanted to avoid Cloud.

Neither man spoke for what felt as several minutes until Cloud finally asked another question, one about why Vincent had left his own party so early. Feeling a bit self-conscious Vincent muttered something about having felt the need for some fresh air. The younger man raised an eyebrow but made no further comments, both knew the correct answer to the question anyway; Vincent had never been a party person. With this the two yet again fell silent.

When Cloud spoke for a third time his question completely caught Vincent of guard, and his calm composure was almost about to crumble. The blond had entered territory the red eyed man deemed to be forbidden, it was that one day he had let his tongue slip. Even though Vincent had literally told Cloud to ignore the event that had happened those months ago, it seemed as if the blond had a hard time doing so. The raven haired man frantically searched his mind for something to say, trying to regain enforced composure.  
"Why is it that you want to know?" Vincent finally retorted, having been unable to think of anything else. This question of his did however result in reaction that Vincent could never have anticipated, and it really did seem as if he had managed to turn the tables on the blond. Now it was Cloud who seemed at loss of words, and it seemed as he were not able to do anything but stare at the papers he had been previously reading, his cheeks flushing a faint shade of red. Vincent could feel his heartbeats pick up the pace, slightly flustered himself by Cloud's reaction, and the raven haired man couldn't help but wonder why. Why could Cloud possibly be bother by such a question?

* * *

So finally chapter 3 has come to an end, it feels like it took forever (well, it did). I wrote, then rewrote. I wrote this chapter one part at the time and I hope it did not become to repetitive.  
Now I want to ask you all readers a question, do you want me to continue?  
I promise I will finish this story if there is someone who wants me to do so, otherwise I might not bother, maybe.  
Hope you enjoyed reading this!  
Please write a comment if you feel like it! :)


	4. Chapter 4

Once more I have taken my time (by that I mean looong time) to write the next (and in this case last) chapter of this story. I apologize for the long wait. I had to do quite a lot of thinking to get it the way I wanted. But now the story is finally finished. It took me only about 2 years. Thank you for your patience.

There might be some mistakes in my writing, partly due to me not being a native English speaker, partly because my keyboard is broken and doesn't type certain letters all too well. I try to spot and correct all my mistakes, but I do miss some of them. I am sorry for this and hope this does not cause you too much trouble.

I won't keep you any longer, so feel free to read and (hopefully) enjoy! 

* * *

Cloud continued pretending to read the documents he had found amongst the old dusty books in the library, thus doing his best to ignore the others question. The older man however did not leave his side but stood quietly observing him, looking down at the same shabby papers as Cloud. The blond guessed he was deep in thought, or then he was just standing there, it was hard to tell with Vincent. After a minute or two of silence the blond could simply not take it anymore, he sighed and looked up at the taller man, who looked right back down at him.

"I, well… It 's just that it has bothered me lately… or, I just don't know what to think about it…" the blond trailed of and the raven haired merely raised his eyebrows, trying to figure out what the blond really was talking about. Cloud found himself incapable of meeting those deep red eyes and so he defeated shook his head, as to say never mind, and looked back down onto the papers he had been studying for the better part of the evening.  
"I see" said the red clad man finally. He had, after a long time of contemplating about what to do about the situation or whether to do anything at all, come to a conclusion. Then, to Cloud's surprise, he turned away and walked towards the door. Wide opened blue eyes followed the sweeping movements of the cape as its owner made his way through the space between the narrow bookshelves. Cloud did not know whether to feel relieved or disappointed, what was it that he had expected to happen anyway?

Upon reaching the door Vincent halted, resting his hand upon the door handle he took a deep breath.  
"When saying that you have been thinking about someone lately, it seldom has more than one meaning. And I have been thinking about you lately." With that phrase he stepped out the door, silently pulling it close behind him. Left in the darkish room was the blond. He was left to wonder at what it was that Vincent had been trying to tell him, not that there had ever been much doubt to it. Cloud however locked away this knowledge deep down inside and continued reading the report without really reading it at all. If asked to give a recollection of what he had been reading about he would most likely prove unable to answer, he was that lost in thought.

Rather mazed Cloud lifted his head from above the table and scratched his slightly sore cheek. Looking around he realized he had fallen asleep in the basement, about halfway through the documents. He had been awakened by movement on the upper floors, supposedly the kids, as it seemed to be the sound of trampling, lively feet that made their way down to where the blond sat. His entire body felt thoroughly stiff and he sleepily tried stretching out his arms in front of him causing the bones of his to groan in protest, then and there he decided then and there to never fall asleep in a chair again. Slowly he could feel the blood starting to flow more freely through him, making him feel alerter. On the other hand, being alert also had its drawbacks, it made Cloud recall the ordeal from yesterday. He sighed deeply and trying to rid the last bit of weariness he gave his eyes a short rub. Getting up from the rather uncomfortable chair he had spent the night in he started walking around the wooden desk in the underground library trying to find all the yellowish pieces of paper he had been reading, as these had been spread out all over the floor during the course of the night, all because he had been sleeping restlessly. When done collecting he was not sure of whether he had managed to assemble the full report or not, but he assumed that a couple o missing pages would not spoil anyone else's experience as it was most unlike that anyone apart from him would ever read that one specific report. It was not too interesting either, not the parts the blond could recall having read at least. The blond was just about to put away the report among the others on the shelf as he changed his mind and thoughtfully walked back to the desk. As he had indeed never completed the reading of these documents he supposed there would be no harm in leaving them there for the next time he would visit. He was quite sure Vincent wouldn't mind, however, to be on the safe side, he decided to mention this fact to the man he assumed to be sleeping in the room next doors.

Leaving the dusty underground library behind Cloud shuffled out into the long tunnel connecting the basement to the rest of the house. The cave like tunnel was dark and the blond had a hard time seeing the door leading to the room where he first had stumbled across Vincent, but thanks to him having been here countless times before he knew his way well enough to manage to get in. As the old door swung open an even deeper darkness than the one in the tunnel greeted blue eyes and Cloud had to wait a minute or two for his eyesight to adjust, but having done so his azure eyes widened in surprise. As far as Cloud could remember the small, cramped room looked exactly similar to what it had done when he first saw it, as if time had left it untouched. The coffins stood in their exact same spots and nothing seemed to have moved even an inch, except for the lids on the coffins, they were all opened wide, and this was the fact that Cloud found particularly surprising. Vincent was not in here. This usually being the place the dark haired man fled when faced with a big number of visitors, Vincent's absence was unexpected, not that Vincent wasn't the man who could just vanish from the face of earth when he wanted to but taking yesterday's events into account Cloud had expected him to stay close by. He had been wrong. Perplexedthe blond slowly backed out of the room, wondering if the sounds he had heard above could have been the man. He quickly dismissed that thought though, as he doubted Vincent would spend his morning running around in the mansion, it had to be the kids.

Deeply absorbed in thought the young man walked up the spiral staircase, slowly making his way up to the ground floor of the mansion. Stepping out the door he was almost immediately greeted by Marlene and Denzel who reported they had been impatiently waiting for the others to wake up. Cloud absentmindedly greeted them and took a quick look around the room currently bathing in early morning sunlight, there was no sign of the mysterious man.

"Why were you downstairs? Were you talking with Vincent?" asked Marlene hopefully, eager to get more company, but Cloud could do nothing but shake his head calmly. He had not been talking to Vincent he told her, but reading some documents relating to a possible delivery. She looked disappointed, she was fond of Vincent and would most likely have wanted to see him once more before leaving Nibelheim. The blond tried to give her a compassionate smile, telling her the man was probably asleep, as he was unaccustomed to having as much company as he had had yesterday. The children seemed to be content with such an explanation, and although Marlene's big brown eyes gave Cloud an extra suspicious look they ran of playing again, leaving Cloud in the bare room, the sunlight his only company for now. He spotted a couple of old wooden chairs in a corner and decided to drag one of these through the room and place it in front of one of the mansion's bigger windows. Outside was barren. Vast landscapes spread themselves as far beyond the small town as eyes could reach. In the early morning nothing much stirred, only a creature of sorts ran up and down about a tree, stopping occasionally to check it was beyond harm. Cloud carefully scanned every bit of land he could see, but there was no sign of the man he was looking for, if Vincent wanted to disappear he could, and Cloud knew this all too well. Still he continued to endeavour in his futile attempts to find him. As a matter of fact he was so engulfed in his doings he failed to hear Tifa enter the room, her question to him thus giving him a start. The brunette giggled softly as she crossed the room. Standing next to Cloud she repeated her question.  
"What are you looking at?" she chimed happily.  
"Nothing" he replied bluntly, a reply to which she only shrugged at and accepted it as such. After having kept the blond company for a good 15 minutes Tifa questioned him about Vincent's whereabouts. She seemed worried as he had seemingly left the party early yesterday.  
"Sleeping" lied Cloud, a lie he effortlessly repeated multiple times during that day until all the guests had gone, even he.

Now all signs of movement in the mansion were gone, only an empty wooden chair situated in front of a big window indicated that there had ever been life inside the walls of the estate.

A few weeks later Cloud had a delivery to conduct in an area close to Nibelheim, he would have to take a roundabout way if he chose to visit the actual town, but still the blond felt that it would not be too much of a detour. Since he last left the mansion he had been followed by a nagging feeling that something was not right, the blond had tried to ignore this sensation at first, but as it was silently gnawing away at his mind it was particularly hard to get rid of. So now when he had the chance to return to the house without it seeming all too suspicious he saw no reason why he should not. Thus, on his way back, he manoeuvred his motorbike up towards the desolate mansion. Glancing up at the house that was clearly past its days of glory the blond thought it looked very dejected. The dullish gray concrete colossus looked deserted and untenanted, silently Cloud queried if that was how the raven haired man perceived it as well. The sun light reflecting itself in the windows hindered the blond from having a look inside, as all he saw when he tried was the scenery behind him, reflected in the glass. The gravel crackled under his feet as he walked up the path leading towards the door. He received no answer apart from the sort of hollow echo created when rapping at hard wood. The blond however found the door unlocked and thus he invited himself inside, where things looked just as abandoned as they had done from the outside. Particles of dust, clearly visible in the bright evening sun, danced gracefully yet erratically through the air. Blue eyes glanced through the room, as far as he could remember it looked the same as it had done when he last left it. By the window the chair still stood as solitary as it had before. Cloud headed straight for the basement.

The door to Vincent's sleeping chambers gnarled as he wrung it open. Slowly, as if not to disturb any inhibitors potentially lurking behind it, the man stepped inside. The blond felt his heart take an extra beat at noticing that someone had replaced the lids. He quickly opened two of them, it was the lids of the coffins he knew the dark haired man did not utiliz,e and as he had imagined he found no one. Feeling his heart race for unknown reasons Cloud approached the last coffin in the room, the one placed in the centre. Heartbeat throbbing in his ears he carefully grabbed hold of the heavy lid, and as softly and soundlessly as he could he slid the dusty, black thing open. Inside was nothing but red, velvety upholstery. Clouds heart sank, he could not understand why but he suddenly felt very lonely, the house in itself felt very lonely, empty. Feelings of dissatisfaction flooding his mind Cloud returned to his bike, he saw no other option than returning home.

The next few weeks passed in a blur of disappointment. Cloud visited the mansion a couple of times, hoping to find the other man, but all his efforts turned out to be futile. The only up-side was that he managed to find time to complete the reading of the report, and many a more of them as well. As a month had passed Clouds endeavours reached a point where he even paid visits to Lucrecia's cave, unable to think of any other place where the mysterious man in red could have gone off too. As he never managed to find the man though, his efforts proved to be in vain yet again. To the shock of the blond he noticed that he was slowly working himself into a state of desperation.

A couple of weeks later Cloud again found himself in front of the weather-beaten mansion, he didn't even have to make a conscious decision to go there anymore, his bike simply seemed to lead the way, as if using autopilot. He no longer even bothered to go down into the basement, knowing that nothing would await him there. The blond simply spent time in the house, sitting on that wooden chair, looking out the window. Today was no exception. The scenery was indeed spectacular, the ground bathed in the reddish evening light that steadily grew weaker at the approach of night and Cloud sat there and watched until the last few glimmering rays of light were engulfed by an immense darkness. It seemed as if the world outside had been swept into a complete stillness, inside of a ruffled blond head however stillness was nowhere to be found. Cloud's mind was busy dealing with an issue, an issue he had ignored for far too long. What did he feel towards the man he so desperately sought to find?

The blond had always been aware of that his feelings would boil up to a point where he could no longer sit idle and watch things happen right before his eyes without him actually taking action. The process of concealing his emotions had started at the very point Vincent had said those few words, thinking back at that now, the meaning and significance those words had held was not in the least unclear. Maybe the blond had always been aware of the fact, but he had chosen to not understand it because… well, he was unsure of the reasons as to why. Feelings were not his stronghold and he did by no means feel comfortable pondering upon them, not feelings towards him and definitely not his feelings towards others. Living consciously unaware of them was a bliss. Now however, Vincent having been as blunt as he had, the blue eyed man felt he had no choice in the matter anymore, he could either deal with what was right before him or forget it altogether. He was free to choose, but not entirely sure he wanted to forget. The other man's existence was… special to Cloud. The link he felt to him and the feelings connected to him were hard to describe, but they did certainly not categorise as friendship. Saying his feelings exceeded those of friendship would also not be altogether true, as Cloud as a matter of fact did not know all too much about the mysterious man and they had spent only a marginal amount of time together. There was however an attraction, a desire to know more. These last few weeks had stirred the peace in Clouds mind and disturbed long dormant parts of it, memories he tried to escape. Recollections of Aeris were again brought up to the surface. The bond shared by the blond and Vincent could not compare to that what Cloud once had felt towards her, but there was a possibility that this new bond could grow. There was potential.

Leaving the mansion that night the blond felt noticeably lighter at heart.

As the delivery services seemed to reach a peak during the next few weeks the blond found himself rather stripped of time, thus his visits to the mansion had decreased. Cloud did not want to postpone the finding of the raven haired man, but he had almost no orders to deliver in the direction of Nibelheim and on some nights he was far too exhausted to drive all the way there just to visit an empty house. Adding to this Cloud thought the man in question did not seem to want to be found anyway, and the blond was starting to doubt he ever would want to be.

More often than not Cloud found himself returning late from the deliveries and today was no exception, thus he headed straight for the church as he saw no point in waking Tifa and the children only in order to announce his safe return. Upon entering the church it was already late night, a slight coolness hang in the air and a few starts could be spotted through the holes in the roof of the building. The room was immersed in a pale light in which all colours grew feebler. The blond swiftly continued forward, towards the flowerbed, only to stop abruptly after a couple of steps. On one of the benches not far from where Cloud now was standing sat a person, a man. Vincent. A glow of vivid red seemed to spread out from his cape, contrasting nicely with his hair darker than the night surrounding them. Cloud slowly and carefully breathed in, and out. The man who he had not spotted in over two months sat only about ten meters away from him, currently preoccupied with thoughtfully twisting a yellowish flower between his fingers.

"What are you doing here?" the words of the blond came out as no more than a whisper. The man seated on the pew stopped his twisting and raised the flower so it was at about the same height as his eyes. He seemed to observe it closely, intently. Then he spoke.  
"I gave you time to think" he said "and now I am here to see if you have come to any… conclusions" Vincent carefully put down the flower besides him, but did no further attempt to move. The blond stared pensively at the older man, trying to figure out the meaning of what just had been said. Then he recalled the conversation the two had shared when in the basement of Shinra Mansion, or rather the lack of it. Slowly Cloud made his way over to the pew the other man occupied.  
"It did not take me two months to sort out my thoughts, you know" he stated as he slumped down besides the already seated man, even though it was not too far from the truth. Vincent snorted, it sounded almost like a muffled laugh.  
"It took me a lot longer" he confessed. Slightly surprised Cloud turned to look at the other man who still faced straight forward. The older man did have an amazingly beautiful profile indeed, and Cloud could not tear his gaze from it. A silence settled in the room, which was not an uncommon feature when the two men got together. This silence was then again a rather pleasant, comfortable silence. The air was chilled and the night was dark, but in this very moment it did not seem all too bad.  
"So, where to from here?" Vincent asked, his clear, comforting voice carrying swiftly through the surrounding night. The raven haired cast a glimpse at Cloud through the corner of his eyes, however his head remained unturned. Cloud, fairly embarrassed caught staring at the other rapidly turned his head away at such a speed that the blond hair waltzed vivaciously around his head. He sat a moment in silence before telling the dark haired man he was not entirely sure.  
"I don't need two months to figure it out though, so there is no need to disappear again" he added, unsure of what the other might do if he was not informed of this. Vincent nodded.

As the night grew deeper the air grew colder, making a shiver creep down along Cloud's spine, he shuddered. He scooted a tad closer to the man swept into his red cloak. The closer proximity provided some warmth, realizing this, the blond slid yet a bit nearer. Vincent's red eyes widened slightly at the blond's actions but he remained seated where he was. The silence surrounding them both was never once broken as they settled into the new, somewhat awkward position. Vincent found, that even when his body had accustomed to the propinquity of the blond, his mind would not settled, something was nagging him and he did not know which way to bring it up.

"You stopped coming" he stated, once confident enough he had calmed down to the degree that his voice could be trusted again.  
"You knew?" the blond asked, surprise evident in his voice. Vincent remained silent but nodded absentmindedly.  
"How?" Cloud asked, curious to knowing the answer. He received none. Knowing Vincent he was not all too surprised and settled with the silent treatment. After a while the raven haired man decided to talk again.  
"You almost had me at the cave, though" he murmured thoughtfully into the collar of his cloak. Cloud snorted slightly at this comment but said no more letting the church sink back into utter silence. Vincent's question remained unspoken but he accepted the silence for now, still he was fairly annoyed at himself for not being able to bring it up smoothly.

Vincent, a man usually most fond of quiet moments found this one to be particularly hard to bear. It was because his mind was still craving the answer to that one certain question. He figured it was not a question most people would consider to be relevant to this situation, but it refused to leave the man at peace. As Vincent so often he had done in the past he once again found himself wishing he would be more eloquent, because now all he could do was either be blunt or keep silent. In situations like this bluntness was his only option.  
"Are you still dwelling upon the past?" Vincent's deep voice cut through the silence like a sharp knife. Another question shot out of the blue. Cloud took his time to answer, then shook his head in amazement. He was stunned by his own answer, true as it was, he hadn't had time to dwell upon other things than the matter at hands during the past few months, he had completely forgotten about the past. It was human, Cloud supposed, to preoccupy your mind with things bearing more value to ones immediate existence, and suddenly he understood how Vincent must have felt, uttering those words, the words that had launched the whole chain of events.  
"I have been thinking about you" said the blond, eyes cast downwards, voice barely audible. More than content at that answer the red eyed man felt no need to comment, thus the conversation was once more brought to an end and silence ate its way through the room, seemingly spreading at the same pace as the blackness of the night.

The blond had lost all conception of time and all of a sudden he felt the exhaustion from today's delivery overtake him. His eyelids grew heavy, as did his head, tiredness overtook his mind. Half dazed by sleep Cloud decided to rest his head against Vincent's shoulder and carefully he lent down, seeing if the other one would mind. As the older man did nothing to stop it Cloud relaxed. They sat so for a while, immobile, Cloud simply listening to the calm deep breaths of the other man, lulling him further into a sleepy trance. He was surrounded by an ever so faint scent of gunpowder.

Cloud flinched when he felt a hand gently caressing his hair and startled he looked up at Vincent, who looked right back down on him, smiling, a faint tint of pink spreading across his otherwise extremely pale cheeks. Feeling more than a little self-conscious the taller man felt the need to explain himself.

"I have always wanted to know what it feels like, that hair of yours, it looks so silky" even though his heart was racing as mad his voice remained calm, he tried not to break eye contact with the younger man. Cloud, looking up at Vincent, felt like he saw beauty for the first time in years, because the man in front of him was dazzling. Those crimson eyes, seemingly shining like rubies in the darkness, were a feature the blond found especially enchanting. Hand still nestled into blond hair Vincent drew Cloud closer to him, so close he could feel the others breathe warm and moist on his cheek. Their lips connected. It was for no longer than for a fraction of seconds, but those seconds were filled with emotions both men had long since forgotten. Steadily looking into blue eyes Vincent pulled away but did not move far off, wanting to savour in the feeling of closeness now that he finally had found it again. The night was cold, the wind was harsh and the pew was not precisely comfortable, but as Vincent rested his deep red eyes upon Cloud, he realized that he, for the first time in decades, felt truly glad.

The blond, deeply taken by the event, was deeply flushed and looking up at the other he could see, so was he. Cloud observed, for the first time he could recall, that the pale face in front of him actually expressed emotions, the red eyes swam with familiar and unfamiliar kinds of them. This fact, even more than the kiss itself, made Cloud's heart race, he was content. The blond was pleased with that it was his presence that had put the other in such a state.  
"Please, do come visit when you have time" the plea was uttered in a voice that barely exceeded that of a whisper but do to the close proximity the blond had no problems perceiving what had been said. He moved his face a bit further away and nodded, Vincent seemed grateful and reverted back to his original posture. Thus also Cloud laid back his head on the others shoulder and soon he could hear the breathing of Vincent return to its calm and composed state. Cloud pondered but a while upon the circumstances surrounding this new fragile bond the two had formed. He was not sure of how it would develop and at what rate, but he saw a possibility and he knew now what he wanted. The blond had finally managed to find and accept a feeling he had believed him long lost and he was content with believing these feelings were reciprocated.

As the night grew darker clouds started to block the view of the starry sky, and soon the first drops of rain started to make their way onto the ground far below them. The church was filled with a faint scent of flowers. 

* * *

And so the story comes to an end. This is the way I always imagined it to end when I sat out writing.

I must admit that the writing process of this story has thought me a lot. Among other things I have learnt that it takes a very long time for me to complete a story, so next time I write something I should first complete the story, then upload. (I doubt this will happen though).

So now I am on to the next story, however, I have absolutely no idea what or WHOM it should be about. I am open to suggestions though, so if you have any please let me know. (I have a list of the parings I like on my profile).

Thank you to all who have stuck with me until the end, I had fun writing this story and I hope you enjoyed reading it! Please feel free to leave a comment.


End file.
